The Angel's Hunt
by Alex N. Glade
Summary: The heavenly war has ended. And those who fell now crave for revenge. Mystery and danger surround Lyra in an effort to protect her from forces unknown to her. Under the guidance of a fearsome guardian angel she discovers ancient secrets and uncanny abilities as she embarks on a wild hunt in search of the hidden truth and herself.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Well, might as well get this over with. So, this is my first fanfiction ever and I'm really new to all of this publishing stuff. But for quite some time it's been a goal of mine (and a New Year's Resolution) to finally get the guts and publish the fanfic I've been loosely writing since September. I just want to make some things clear now: (1) I'm not a native English speaker so please forgive any vocabulary or grammar mistakes I may have made. I try to do my best to avoid those and make this simple fanfic seem like a professionally written book and (2) I welcome any constructive criticism you readers might have as long as it is delivered in a polite manner :). If you're still reading this, thank you for taking the time to check out my story. If you like it, drop a review and let me know if I should continue this, it'll help me out a lot (morally that is :)) For more information regarding this fic feel free to check out my profile to get a better idea of what ride you're in for :)**

 **Now I'm only going to do this once, so here it goes.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own _His Dark Materials._ The trilogy belongs to its respectful owner Philip Pullman. I own only my original characters and my story.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Prologue

All was quiet in the streets of Oxford. Only the glow of the moon, the whistle of the wind and the song of the nightingale were present on this fateful night. Nothing would stop her from reaching her goal. The leaves rustled in her flight, the rooftops creaked softly under her light steps, the mice and rats hid from her shadow.

She came atop Carfax Tower and gazed at the dark city. The moon hid behind the clouds, the wind stopped its whistle and the nightingale fell silent as if all of them were holding their breath. The cat daemon came to stand beside her, feeling the fear they inspired in everything around them. He snarled in self-loathing.

"Are we going to see the child?" He asked.

There was a pause. She carefully thought through her words, knowing what her decision would mean. "Not yet." She said. "And she isn't a child anymore. We must plan this carefully, my Xander. I see danger looming over her and we must put a stop to it."

"Are you still hoping you can protect her?" The daemon asked.

"You know I have to. But it's going to be difficult; too many are already lining up to have her head on a plate. Or worse."

"So what do we do? She'll ask questions; she'll want the truth."

"We'll try to keep her in the dark until the time is right. Until then…" She took out an envelope from an inside pocket. "We move in." She passed him the envelope. "Take this to Dame Hannah. Make sure she agrees to the meeting." The daemon gently took the letter in his mouth and melted into the shadows.

She was left alone atop the tower. She closed her eyes in thought, willing only the best to happen. But images of different futures came uninvited into her mind. Images of darkness and death, of loss and sorrow, of slavery and war swirled in her mind. The winds blew again to rid her of those images, the moon shone on her to give her light and hope and the nightingale sang to sooth her heart and remind her of her cause. She tried to send one last message.

"Don't worry Lyra." She opened her eyes. "I'm coming for you."

* * *

Lyra felt weak and cold. The whispers never ceased, always taunting her, always breaking her again and again. The horror she just witnessed was imprinted in her mind. And it never left her.

Words cannot describe what she felt when she witnessed the death of Will Parry. And that scene kept replaying in her mind. She screamed and cried for it to end, for life to end. But the pain only kept growing and growing. She looked down at her hands, covered in blood and cuts. She felt blood running down her face, neck and back. Sleep was pulling her but she resisted. If she closed her eyes she would be stuck in a forever nightmare. But she felt only weaker and colder and soon her eyes closed.

Will was lying on his stomach, his eyes were wild and afraid. Lyra wanted to look away but couldn't move. Only the pain that would put her into an eternal nightmare was there. The whispers continued. They asked why she didn't know this would happen. Why she didn't stop it. She kept staring at Will. She owed him at least that. In the final moments she wasn't going down without a fight.

The blade that was about to end Will's life dropped from above… and broke mid-fall.

Light suddenly chased away the darkness. The hellish creatures that were torturing her burned up and disappeared into the ground leaving only traces of smoke. Lyra fell on her hands and knees and breathed heavily. Someone laid Will's still form next to her. She looked at him and was relieved to see his chest rising and falling evenly, though his eyes remained closed. Then she felt a gentle hand rest on her neck and a pleasant pain warmed her body.

"Don't worry Lyra." She closed her eyes. "I'm coming for you."


	2. Phantom Arrival

**Author's Note: This chapter was originally going to be much bigger but I decided to split it into two smaller ones. I'll upload the next chapter tomorrow.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Lyra opened her eyes and quickly sat up, breathing heavily, her heart raging in her chest. Another nightmare. She brushed the tears and sweat from her face and looked around to make sure she was back in reality. The dorm room was dim and Lyra guessed it was probably the early hours of morning. She looked at the clock in the room. Four thirty. Her gaze fell on her daemon Pantalaimon, who was just awakening at the foot of the bed, and then she cast a glance her roommate Emma, still fast asleep. Lyra knew that she wasn't going to get any more sleep after that dream. She had already forgotten how many times that nightmare had chased away her sleep.

It had been no more than three months after her great adventure ended. No more than three months after she and Will had parted ways forever; and her heart was ripped from her chest. And she feared that the pain was slowly eating away at her sanity.

Pan crawled tiredly to her and she held her daemon tightly to her chest. They needn't speak. They both knew what the other felt.

Lyra reached behind her pillow and felt her fingers touch the cold metal of the alethiometer. She grabbed it and sat cross-legged in her bed. At times like these she would ask what her dream meant or if Will was okay. But now she would ask something else

She took a deep breath and looked at the intricately painted symbols. She concentrated on her dream, specifically at the end, and tried to interpret its meanings. She got down to them and selected the moon, the angel and the bull. Then she held the question in her mind and watched the needle dart. It stopped on the serpent and stayed there. Lyra ran through her mind all the meanings of the serpent she knew of but didn't understand what it was telling her. She wanted to know more.

As if understanding her, the alethiometer worked again. Now it darted from symbol to symbol. It selected the owl, the serpent again, then the moon, griffin and many more symbols. Despite her limited knowledge of the meanings strangeness occurred then; even though she had lost the subconscious grace that allowed her to understand the golden compass, she felt it was telling her about someone dark, powerful and dangerous, but also protective and knowledgeable and almost ancient. Lyra didn't trust her interpretation of the symbols and yet she had a feeling that the person the alethiometer showed her knew something important.

"Lyra? How long have you been awake?"

Lyra hid the alethiometer under the covers and looked at Emma, who was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She then glanced at the clock. It was seven thirty.

"A couple 'o hours." Lyra shrugged. Pan shook himself awake and flowed into her lap. "I couldn't sleep."

"Been having nightmares again?" The other girl asked. "There's nothing to worry about. There haven't been any kidnappings by the Gobblers for months." Emma got out of her bed and tiredly made her way to the bathroom.

"It's not the Gobblers I'm worried about." Lyra murmured to herself.

"Oh Lyra." Pan jumped on her shoulder and nuzzled her neck, feeling her anxiety. "I'm sure they're alright."

"I don't know Pan." Lyra whispered. "It's been like this for months now. I always see him, how frightened he is, pleading for help. And I can't reach him. I can never save him. And every day I feel like I'm getting weaker. It's the same every night. Darkness and death." She shook her head and clutched her daemon tightly. "I'm going insane, aren't I?"

"We're not going insane. We just miss them so much. And today it was different." Pan's voice was matter of fact. "I know it was different."

"You're right. But why was it different? I asked the alethiometer and it was too confusing. I think it meant that something dangerous is going to happen. And I don't know how that's all related."

"We'll think on it later." Pan said and jumped back on the bed. "First we'll have to get through school."

School. If hell really existed Lyra would compare it with this building.

Never having been to a real school before, Lyra had a hard time getting used to it. When Dame Hannah had offered Lyra to study at the boarding school in north Oxford, Lyra was ever so grateful to her. She'd made up her mind very soon after that and now she'd been studying in St. Sofia's for nearly three months. At first she was excited and looked forward to making new friendships and learning new things and most of all learning how to read the alethiometer again. But everything quickly went south in a matter of days.

It was hard for Lyra to fit in with everything being so different from the life she'd known before. She didn't get along with any of the girls in the school – they were as different as chalk and cheese, and all the teachers were giving her a hell of a rough time because she had to catch up with her education. Years' worth of studying couldn't be achieved in mere days and Lyra resented the entire extra work and studying she was forced to do. The only things that made all of this bearable were her friendship with Emma, a girl not unlike herself, and the private alethiometer lessons with Dame Hannah.

So, another two weeks in St. Sofia's School seemed to drag on forever to the young girl. She tried staying awake, tried keeping her mind on her subjects but every once in a while her thoughts would drift back to that dream. Usually her nightmares would show her vivid images of Will dying in horrific ways; choking to death, or spitting blood, or clutching his slit throat. Lyra had thrown up so many times after her nightmares that she resolved not to eat for hours before going to bed. The nights tormented her still and each day she felt she was becoming weaker; the loss of weight and dark circles around her eyes were more than enough evidence.

However, that night she had finally gotten an image of what ended Will's life and now she clearly recalled it. She saw an angled blade fall from above, about to severe his head from his shoulders. Only Lyra couldn't remember the name of the execution device but it looked and felt so familiar that it made her nauseous every time she thought of it. She knew that something was coming. And she felt being pulled to it.

So, with her mind full of thoughts and questions she could not voice, Lyra entered her history class and took her place on the last desk, far away from the teacher.

"Settle down girls." The middle-aged lady said. "Today we will be talking about a major event in our history that had an enormous impact on our world. It was a time of uprisings, terror and blood. It was a period of radical social and political upheaval. The French Revolution. The French Revolution started in seventeen eighty-nine, after…" And that's when Lyra zoned out.

She kept thinking about the device in her dream. She even thought about asking the alethiometer about it but later decided against that idea, wanting to reconcile with her teachers from their last disagreements. So, she just pretended to write down what her teacher said while Pan was lying curled up by her bag. It wasn't until half an hour later that she perked up.

"The guillotine was a common, if not popular, device for carrying out executions in France during that period. It consists of a tall upright frame in which a weighted and angled blade is raised to the top and suspended. The condemned person is secured at the bottom of the frame, with his or her neck held directly below the blade. The blade is then released, to fall swiftly and sever the head from the body. Its first prototype was built by…"

Lyra stopped listening again. The description of the guillotine fit perfectly with her dream. But what was the connection between Will and it? Lyra quickly fished out the alethiometer from her bag and, making sure no one was looking, turned the hands of the instrument.

"Lyra what are you doing?" Pan whispered.

"Hush Pan." Lyra said, too excited to explain.

"If she catches you, we'll be in trouble. Again."

"She won't. Now keep quiet." She told him and held her question in her mind.

The needle darted slowly, as if the instrument itself wasn't sure what she meant. Lyra concentrated harder, holding her question and just following the needles. The needle then stopped right before a symbol and started again, pointing to completely different symbols than the last time. Lyra's eyes followed the darting needle and tried so hard to find those ladders of meaning which weren't there anymore. She tried putting all she'd learned from her lessons with Dame Hannah into this one question, needing just one answer. And then the symbols started glowing.

Lyra gasped slightly but held her state of mind. The symbols on which the needle had stopped seemed to be glowing with an eerie white light. And the answer was clear now; she just had to read it. A bringer of death…

"Lyra Belacqua!" The stern voice of the teacher came, followed by the laughter of girls.

Lyra snapped out of her trance. It was becoming a bad habit for her to always try and decipher the meaning of the ancient device at every moment her teachers looked away. However, this time she managed to get a lead.

"Yes Mrs. Wright." Lyra straightened at attention.

"I asked you a question. When was the French Revolution?" The middle-aged woman repeated with less patience than before.

"Um… it was in seventeen-" Just then the bell rang, signaling the end of history class. "I gotta go. Goodbye Mrs. Wright." Lyra quickly escaped the classroom before the teacher could react. Dame Hannah would hear of this but Lyra would deal with it later.

"Saved by the bell, Belacqua. Hopefully next time you won't be so lucky." A girl sneered.

"And let's hope the teacher makes a rule 'no dogs in class' so I won't have to look at your powdered face, Marion."

Lyra gave the girl the best fierce look she could manage, remembering how Will did it.

 _Will_.

The thought quickly extinguished all the fire she'd built up for a long heated fight. Most of the girls at St. Sophia came from wealthy families, always bragging about their riches and blue blood. But, as Lyra had noticed from her few weeks in the school, they acted more like pack dogs, always choosing their own and isolating the rest. Lyra was one of those isolated, or she wished she was. She wished she was invisible, but for some reason the snobs always chose to pick on her and that forced her and Pan to sometimes defend themselves. But given her record as a wild child back in Jordan College, she was always given the benefit of the doubt.

But she had a goal here: to learn how to read the alethiometer again. And nothing would stand in her way.

"Oh Lyra." A voice called from behind her. Lyra turned to her French class teacher. "Lyra, Dame Hannah wants to see you immediately." The teacher said.

"Now? But Ms. Bonnet, my lesson with her is after mathematics." Lyra protested. She'd already skipped enough classes, lying that Dame Hannah wanted to speak with her. And how would she be in trouble if she was late for another lesson.

"No, Dame Hannah said it was of utmost importance." Ms. Bonnet insisted.

Lyra reluctantly nodded and hurriedly made her way to the office. "What do you think's the problem, Pan? She's never called for me like this." Lyra asked, holding Pantalaimon to her chest.

"I don't know. I got a bad feeling." The pine marten said, nuzzling into her neck.

"You always say that. But this time I feel it too."

* * *

"Honestly, I can't believe you actually agreed to that meeting." The young woman said casually with a smile, standing in the office of Dame Hannah Relf, inspecting the books and items on the shelf of a cabinet. Her back was turned to the Dame but that in no way made the old woman feel more comfortable. The curtains were pulled together and the only light coming in the room was from the hearth behind the coffee table and from the candelabras above it. The light cast perfect shadows that helped the young woman blend in the dark, almost becoming invisible. "I thought I'd have to send Xander to give you a second letter to show you that the matter was of utmost importance." She said and turned to the Dame. Her cat daemon gave a soft growl and butted his head against her boots.

"And then I'd be the one responsible for giving the woman a heart attack." He hissed lowly to his girl. She bent down and put the big cat on her shoulder, lovingly rubbing him behind the ears.

"You should know I'm not that old." The Dame said with a scowl on her face, having heard the daemon's comment.

The girl's face became from casual and cocky to clean and serious. "I am aware of that, Dame Hannah. But you must understand that I couldn't take any chances. Not here. Not now. It was important that I keep a low profile so as not to bring harm to anybody. I don't want innocent people to suffer because of my mission. Besides, I needed some relief of my conscience to think more clearly." The young woman gently smoothed the long black piece of mane atop her daemon's head. The cat rolled his eyes and pushed himself off from her shoulder, landing silently and gracefully. Xander jumped on an armchair and nestled in the cushions, his striped silky fur blending with the tapestry.

Dame Hannah knew from the very beginning that this young woman was dangerous but just how dangerous she'd only just begun to understand.

"I figured it would be best if we met somewhere away from the public's eye. Even though the Magisterium doesn't keep track of things as it did before, we should always remain vigilant." The young woman continued her polite talk.

The Dame shifted in her armchair, her back to the fire. "I find it unbelievable myself that I agreed to meet a mysterious person in the dead of night in a secluded place. Considering that I still haven't seen your face." Fear was slowly creeping up the old woman's voice but she tried to keep a poker face.

The young woman smiled underneath her mask. In addition to the mask that covered all her face, except for her striking green eyes, she also wore a hood, which cast shadows that made her eyes look pitch black and soulless. "I promise you that you will see my face when the girl comes. And please forgive me for causing you this fear and anxiety. I have that effect on people sometimes." Her proud and nonchalant tone made Dame Hannah take a shuddering breath. "Since you don't know me you can ask me anything you like. About me, that is." The girl added as an afterthought.

The Dame sized up the young woman for the umpteenth time since she'd seen her. Tall, stocky build, clearly strong. She was clad in an odd costume made of hard leather. Basically her visitor was made for battle and was no stranger to it. Even her voice was slightly rough, muffled by the mask as it was. "How old are you? It would be good to know that I'm entrusting the girl into the hands of an adult. You seem like in your early twenties." She asked tentatively.

Her visitor chuckled. "Close enough. Fifteen."

"Fifteen?!" The Dame asked incredulously.

"And a half." The daemon added. "We're three years older than the Belacqua girl."

Now the Dame was intrigued. "Fascinating. And where do you come from? You're so young and yet seem clearly experienced in handling dangerous situations."

"Many years of training, battles and struggle for survival can do wonders, darling. That's enough of a hint that I'm not from around these parts." The girl chuckled lightly but the old woman still remained on edge.

"I want to make sure of one more thing." Dame Hannah said. "Will you promise to take care of Lyra? I know she's been through a lot and it pains me to see someone so young to be thrust into such conflicts again."

The young woman put a hand over her heart, dead serious again. "Dame Hannah, I swear that Lyra Silvertongue will not be alone. I promise to protect her with my life and take care of her as if she were my sister."

Just then the door to the office opened and Lyra burst in. "Dame Hannah, you wanted to see me?"

"Lyra, sit down. There's something we have to tell you." Dame Hannah said tiredly.

Lyra was a bit confused about the 'we' part but decided the Dame meant her marmoset daemon. She closed the door behind her but before she could take another step she said "Dame Hannah, I'm not in trouble or anything, right? You know that every word that comes out of Marion's mouth is a lie and-"

"Lyra this has nothing to do with your school life. This is really important and I don't know how you'll take the news." Dame Hannah looked anxious again, her eyes darting between the wild determined girl and the youth who unbeknownst to Lyra was standing two feet away from her.

"Is it something about my parents?" Lyra made to sit in the armchair opposite of the Dame when a soft growl came from it.

"Watch it, you almost sat on me." A large cat said. Lyra noticed he was larger than Will's daemon Kirjava. Before she could speak her surprise the cat daemon jumped from the chair and hid behind the legs of…

Lyra's mouth promptly dropped open at the sight of the girl standing before her.

"Lyra," said Dame Hannah, "I'd like you to meet Alessandra Samara. You will be entrusted in her care from now on."

"What's going on here?" Lyra glanced at Dame Hannah, who now wore a sad look on her face.

"Lyra, before you jump to any conclusions, I want you to know that I mean you no harm, I only wish to protect you." Alessandra held her hand in a peaceable manner. Her hood was down and she held her mask in her hand, her face completely exposed in the light of the room.

"But what's going on? I-I don't understand." Lyra shook her head, fearfully staring up at the tall teenager. She was well a head taller than Lyra. And the long black coat and numerous scars on her face made her all the more horrifying.

"Lyra you must know something: you're in grave danger. I came here to take you to a safe place for protection. I'm not sure if you know this but you are very important and there are people who mean you harm because of that." Alessandra said.

"Lyra I know it's hard for you to understand now but you must go with Sandra." This time Dame Hannah answered. "She contacted me two weeks ago and told me there was a threat hanging above your head. And there are only so many things that I can keep you safe from."

"You know that the Magisterium wanted you dead but you had no idea why, right?" Alessandra asked softly. Lyra shook her head. "Well, it's not only them; there are many more people and organizations that want you, either to kill you, use you or worse. And it ain't gonna be pretty if they get their hands on you."

"How should I trust you then?" Lyra asked. "How do I know you en't sent here from the Magisterium to get me and trick Dame Hannah?"

Sandra sighed through her nose. She worried at her bottom lip, choosing her next words carefully. "Look, I know that you have no reason to trust me; I'm a stranger that could be an assassin and I've come out of the blue to take you God knows where. But… don't you think that there is a reason for this? If I really was sent here by the Magisterium to get you, don't you think I would've done it without giving myself away? Here I am, in Dame Hannah's office after requesting an audience with her, telling you that I'm going to protect you." She took a step back, spreading her arms wide. "What do you think? Am I really here to hurt you?"

Lyra stared hard at the girl. She knew that she shouldn't trust her. But there was something in the strange girl's open and pleading expression that told her otherwise. And if what she said was saying was true… Lyra made up her mind. "I'll go with you. But on two conditions: one, you will tell me everything I want to know about all this; why people are searching for me, where'll you take me and what exactly you plan to do. And two, you will make sure that no harm comes to Dame Hannah or the school. Got that?"

Alessandra blinked once before nodding her head. "Alright." She said simply. She hid her face beneath her mask and hood. "Pack your things and get the alethiometer. Meet me at the Botanic Garden in about two hours." In two long strides Alessandra was at the door, Xander close behind her. She opened the door and stepped into the hallway… and was gone.


	3. All Over Again

Lyra stood dumbstruck, staring at the door, unable to comprehend anything. The courage she'd built up had all but vanished. Dark and fearful questions flew around her mind, searching for answers. But she knew that she had to leave her home yet again to find them. After what felt like eternity she slowly turned to the elderly woman in the room. "Dame Hannah, what do I do?" She asked her voice tight with fear.

"I don't know child but nothing good will come if you stay here." The old woman shook her head ruefully. "I've done all I can to protect you but I'm afraid you must leave. It is not safe for you here." Dame Hannah got up from her chair, lifting with herself the burden that was put on her shoulders. "I'm sorry but I don't want you to get hurt child."

Lyra crossed the room and hugged the old woman. The Dame returned the hug tightly. "Will you be alright?" Lyra asked when she pulled back, blinking the tears away.

"I will but don't you worry about me. You should get ready. Go pack your things. I'll have a carriage prepared to take you to the Garden. I'll miss you Lyra dear." Dame Hannah gripped Lyra's hand.

"I'll miss you too." Lyra said. Dame Hannah released the young girl's hand. Lyra scooped up Pan and headed for the door. She paused at the doorway, a thought in her mind demanded to be voiced. "Dame Hannah, do you trust Sandra?"

The old woman sighed. "I didn't trust her one bit until only moments before you entered. There was something in the way she promised me to look after and protect you that convinced me that she meant you no harm. She's telling the truth Lyra." She looked at Lyra and silently prayed that she had made the right choice trusting the mysterious girl with Lyra's welfare. Then she suddenly said, "Oh, I almost forgot." She went to one of the armchairs in the office and took a bundle of folded clothes. She passed them to Lyra. "Miss Samara said she wanted you to wear these clothes on your travel. She said something about wanting to keep a low profile."

Lyra took the clothes and then looked down at her school uniform, which was a pale blue dress with white floral decorations. She was a little glad that she was leaving it behind. Then she looked up with determination. "I'll be alright Dame Hannah. Goodbye and I hope we meet again." She said and went down the long corridor to her dorm room.

"Lyra what are we going to do?!" Pan shrieked from her shoulder as soon as they were far enough away from the office. "Who the hell is that girl? And what does she want with us?"

"Oh, Pan I don't know. But if what she's telling about the Magisterium and all those other things is true then we better get out of here." Lyra quickened her step, soon sprinting down to the dormitories.

She burst into her room and set to packing all her necessities in a rucksack. The alethiometer was the first thing to go there. Pan hovered by her, reminding her if she missed anything. Lyra then turned to the travelling clothes she'd laid on her bed. She groaned internally when she unfolded them. They looked like man's clothes; a loose white button flannel shirt with frilly cuffs, a dark grey vest made of a thick material, leather bracers, a red sash and a belt, dark trousers, brown knee-high boots made of though leather and a dark grey cloak with a large hood much like the one Sandra wore. Still she put them on. While she was tightening the bracers, Pan spoke up, grabbing her attention.

"Lyra, look."

She whirled around and her jaw fell open for the second time that day. She gazed at her reflection in the mirror, at how different she looked with the new clothes on. They complemented her figure nicely – not too tight and not too loose at the same time – and she found herself smiling slightly, admiring her new look. "You know Pan," she said and walked over to the mirror. Grabbing a hairband, she swept her dark golden locks into a loose ponytail. "I don't know why I hated the idea of wearing trousers so much." Pantalaimon jumped in her arms and nuzzled her cheek. They were just about finished when Lyra's roommate entered their room.

"Lyra, what are you doing?" Emma asked, running a hand through her short pixie hair wet with sweat from fencing class. "I heard you were absent from mathematics." And then added, "And what the heck are you wearing?!"

Lyra quickly came up with a lie. "Oh. Dame Hannah called me. She said that the Master of Jordan College wanted me to visit him and asked if I was okay with it. I said 'yes' and she let me go for a few days to see him. And as for the clothes, they're a present from him. Thought it'd be nice for him to see me like this." Lyra tightened her rucksack and slung it over her shoulder.

"And you're going now?" Emma inquired, raising a suspicious eyebrow.

"I want to make most of my free time. I haven't seen the Master in weeks." And she probably never would.

"Okay then. Have a nice stay there." Emma was still suspicious but let it slide. Lyra was notorious for her lies.

"Bye Emma." Lyra went over and hugged her friend, Pan sniffing her rat daemon. Lyra held onto her tightly friend before letting go.

Emma looked at Lyra, surprised from the embrace. "Lyra you'll be gone only for a few days. I didn't know you cared about me so much. I'm not going anywhere." She said reassuringly.

Lyra nodded. "I know that." _But I am_ , she wanted to say.

Lyra left the room for Emma to change and hurried out of the school. At the gate she stopped and looked back at St. Sophia's Boarding School, remembering the few short weeks she'd spent there. "Lyra we have to go. It's almost noon." Pan said from her shoulder. Lyra took one last look at the school and headed for the carriage ready to take her away.

She reached the Botanic Garden five minutes before noon, out of breath from excitement. She walked through the gates and to her and Will's bench, where Sandra was waiting for her. Lyra spotted the girl standing near the bench, sheets of paper in her arms. Now that they were in daylight Lyra could see Sandra more clearly. She was about a head taller than Lyra and she was of a strong and lean build, clearly having trained for many years. She wore a long black coat made of a thick material resembling leather that almost reached the backs of her knees with a white shirt and dark grey vest underneath it. Lyra caught a glimpse of a wicked-looking curved dagger and a sword at her waist and a number of satchels strapped to her belt. She wore sturdy dark trousers and knee-high black boots, the hilt of a throwing knife protruding from one of the boots.

"Oh good, you're here." Sandra said, looking up from the papers. She wasn't wearing her mask, just her hood, and Lyra saw the smug smile on the girl's face. "I knew those clothes would suit you."

"Yeah…um…" Lyra started but couldn't bring herself to say it. How could she explain to this stranger the intimate promise she'd made to Will before they parted? "Sandra how much time do we have? Because I want to… um…"

"I'm sorry to say this but… we got about ten minutes till everything goes in motion." Sandra looked at Lyra sadly and stuffed the papers in her coat. "I'll give you some privacy to tell Will what's happening." Sandra said and walked over to a pond with flowers and water lilies, her cat daemon following her.

Lyra looked over at Sandra, her eyes wide with surprise. How had she known about Will and about their promise of all things? She pushed the thought to the back of her mind – she would demand answers later – and sat on the bench just as all the bells in Oxford chimed twelve. She took a deep breath and steadied herself. She could almost feel Will sitting next to her on the bench in his own world. She had to tell him and she hoped and prayed that somehow he'd hear her words and understand. "Will, I know you're here and I really hope you can hear me and understand what I'm saying. I don't have much time so please forgive me for not staying with you and breaking our promise. I don't know what's happening. Dame Hannah called me and this mysterious girl was with her and told me that I had to leave. The girl's name is Sandra and she told me that not only the Magisterium is after me now. She told me other people are looking for me and that they want to hurt me or use me or whatever she said. I still don't have answers but I will get them, with the alethiometer or not. I'm so sorry I have to leave early and I don't know what will happen after this. And I don't know if I should trust Sandra but I think she knows more than she's letting on. I'm not sure.

"I dunno what's going to happen now but no matter what, Will, I will always love you. Always and forever. Even if I live years or months or weeks, I will never forget you and I'll always hope we can meet again someday. I wish only the best things happen to you Will Parry. Pan misses Kirjava terribly, just as much as I miss you. I love you Will."

Lyra finished speaking when Sandra called. "Time's up. Come on."

Lyra stood up and scooped Pan who nestled securely on her shoulder. Sandra beckoned for them to come and they went through the gates of the Botanic Garden just when a chariot stopped right in front of them.

"Get in." Sandra pushed Lyra through the open door and then jumped in herself. The driver took off without being told where to go.

"Where're we going?" Lyra asked, anxiety already building up in her.

"To the train station," said Sandra as she settled on the seat opposite of Lyra.

"And after that?"

"To London. Headquarters are there. Don't worry; you'll be safe with me."

"Doesn't feel like it." Lyra said coldly. Pan growled and bared his sharp tiny teeth at the cat daemon from Lyra's arms. Xander was resting his head on Sandra's leg, watching coolly the frightened girl and daemon, his eyes half-closed but still sharp. He flicked an ear at them.

"Look, I know that we're taking you away from your home but that is only to protect you." Sandra said. "The Magisterium is still snooping around and they would've found you sooner or later. And it's not only them. Once I've made sure that you're safe, you'll have everything needed to start over in a new place. You'll have a future; you'll get to choose what to do and we won't ask anything of you." Lyra knew they were only stalling her and her eyes filled with mistrust. Sandra saw that and continued calmly, "I know that wasn't what you were expecting to hear, but what I'm saying is the truth. I won't let anyone hurt you and I will try and answer all the questions you have. You have my word."

"Alright. What'll we do in London?"

"I've got a house on the outskirts of the city, near some woods. We'll go there and in the morning I gotta meet a friend of mine to get some things. Just so you know we'll probably reach London way after dark."

"That long? It took me less than a few hours to reach London last time."

"Well, I'm merely guessing. I didn't come here by train from London."

"How did you come to Oxford then? By zeppelin?"

"On foot." Sandra said with a smile and Lyra's baffled face only made her grin brightly. "I sometimes like to test my skills and travel long distances without many conveniences." Sandra said and cracked her calloused knuckles.

"She calls it testing her skills; I call it masochism or mental disorder." Xander said.

Lyra chuckled at the remark.

Sandra smirked and stroke Xander's head. "You should know he's always like that. If he gets too annoying, try to ignore him. That's what I do."

Xander gave her a flat look. "And then you ask me why we're wanted in more than forty-five states in America."

Lyra felt a smile play at her lips. She still kept in mind the fact that Sandra was dangerous and that they had a long journey ahead of them. But the excitement of a new adventure easily made her forget her worries. The slight bumps of the carriage, the scenery rolling past them in the window, and the now calm breathing of her daemon in her lap took her mind of things. She decided to watch out the window and try to commit as much of her Oxford as she could to memory. It wasn't long when the carriage came to a stop and Sandra opened the door. Lyra jumped out with her rucksack in hand and saw Sandra toss a pouch of money to the coach driver. "Keep the change." She said. When the carriage left, Lyra saw the grand entrance to the railway station, steam rising in the air from the many trains and machinery. After getting the tickets and booking a private first-class compartment, they sat down and waited for the train to go.

Lyra threw her rucksack on the seat and flopped down. Now she was prepared to dig out the truth from Sandra. She expected Sandra to sit down and start answering all her questions as best as she could until Lyra was satisfied. However, it didn't go that way. Sandra lied down on the bench and made herself comfortable, propping her feet on an armrest and resting her head back on her hand. Xander curled up on her abdomen and purred softly when she stroked his head.

"What are you doing?" Lyra asked.

"Killing some time." Sandra said with her eyes closed.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?"

"I'm sure you'll figure something out."

Lyra sighed. Things weren't supposed to go this way. She took out the alethiometer from the rucksack and unfolded the velvet cloth that covered it. She wanted to ask if Will was still at the bench, imagining her next to him. Guilt gripped at her heart and she concentrated hard on which symbols to choose to form her question. After settling with her choice she concentrated hard on the symbols as the needle skimmed around them. The needle was going too fast and she couldn't keep up with it. Her concentration broke and she rubbed her eyes in exhaustion. Still she wasn't going to give up.

Lyra asked the same question, willing the alethiometer to give her the answer more slowly this time and patiently waiting for it. As if understanding her, the needle moved across the surface slower this time, pausing on certain symbols and then continuing again. She could almost picture him in her mind, sitting on his side of the bench, looking longingly to his side where she should be curled up against him. She knew the compass was telling her how much he missed her. Soon she picked up something new that the alethiometer was telling her. She concentrated hard on the symbols trying to decipher the meanings when she was pulled from her thoughts.

Sandra had gasped. She was mumbling something unintelligible in her sleep her face was creased with worry, her hand tightly clutching the edge of the bench. Xander was softly growling and flicking his ears, his paws trembling and his tail swishing from left to right. Sandra opened her eyes and the tension left her shoulders.

"You were talking in your sleep." Lyra said. Sandra rubbed her eyes and sat up slowly.

"How much of that did you understand?"

"Nothing. You were just mumbling." Lyra said and looked out the window. She was surprised to see that the sun had already begun to set and now the sky was a blur of red and gold and pink in the remaining light.

Sandra sighed. "I hate bad dreams."

Lyra looked over at her and saw the same dark circles under her eyes as the ones she had. She felt a pang of pity settle in her heart. "Me too." She said. Sandra looked at her from the corner of her wary eyes and Lyra suddenly felt slightly uncomfortable under her gaze. "How much longer until we reach London?"

"'Bout an hour I reckon. Were you awake this whole time?" Sandra asked.

"I was reading the alethiometer," said Lyra.

Sandra nodded. "You know how it'd be easier to read it? If you ask it something and then note down the symbols it points to. That way you can later look up what you're answer means."

"Never thought of that. Thanks."

"You should rest. It'll be a pretty long way till we get to my place."

Lyra shook her head. "I'm not tired." No sooner than she'd said that she yawned widely. She put the alethiometer back in her rucksack. She leaned her head on her hand, and closed her eyes, and didn't open them again.

Sandra grinned slightly. "Sure you're not, pup."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry if it came out later than expected. So, what do you think? Should I continue posting chapters or not? If you have any comments, suggestions, criticism, and death threats for more, let me know in the reviews. If you like my story then please let me know in the reviews, it'll help me out a lot and most of all I'll write more knowing what you readers think. It's a win-win for both sides :)**


	4. After Dark

**Author's Note: Hey there, readers. Sorry for disappearing for a whole week, but I've been dealing with some writer's block and I really couldn't work on my story. However, there is some good news: my muse is returning, which means I'll be writing more and hopefully updating this thing more often.**

 **One more thing. I'd like to thank my reviewer** **BerbDCat for pointing out a little mistake I'd made in the chapter _Phantom Arrival._ I completely forgot that the last chapter of The Amber Spyglass shows Lyra three weeks after her adventure ended with the Master of Jordan and Dame Hannah in a kinda epilogue scene I think. Anyway, just so you know I slightly edited the chapter ****_Phantom Arrival_ so that it fits more with the timeline. Nothing too big just a slight change and maybe an extra descriptive paragraph. It won't have an impact on the story later, but still, huge thanks to ****BerbDCat for pointing it out. I really appreciate your support dude :) :) And now on to the story!**

 **P.S. WARNING: This chapter contains the following contents that may not be suitable for young children: Swear words, blood and death. That's all.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Sandra had been right when she said that they would arrive after dark. As Lyra stepped out of the train a little groggy from her sleep, she was met with brightly glowing anbaric lights through a maze of smoke and steam. Sandra followed after her and the two made their way out of London's train station and through the city, keeping their heads low and saying little.

Lyra felt a strong sense of déjà vu as she moved through the streets of London. It had been so long since she'd last been to this city, so long since Mrs. Coulter had taken her away from her Oxford. And she felt excitement and anxiety not too different from when she had run away from her mother's apartment after learning those horrible truths. The city smelled and looked the same; the air was still murky and laden with fumes, machinery clang loudly around them and the anbaric lights barely pierced the thick fog which enveloped everything around them.

Lyra kept shooting glances at Sandra, who seemed very on edge. At every movement or noise around them Sandra would flinch ever so slightly and subtly turn to look around them, her eyes darting to the alleys and corners as if expecting something to jump out at them. Lyra swallowed with unease.

A bottle broke somewhere behind them. Lyra looked fearfully over her shoulder.

"Don't look," Sandra said quietly, "and put your hood on."

"Why?"

"Just do it. You're easily recognizable and it'd be best to avoid attention for now."

Lyra threw her hood on and pulled the cloak more tightly around her body as they continued their way. After what seemed like an hour of walking, Sandra abruptly stopped, causing Lyra to bump into her back. Before she could ask anything, however, Sandra grabbed her arm and swiftly dragged her behind a wall. Her back against the wall Sandra peeked slightly around the corner, her whole body tense and her daemon crouched low at her feet.

"What's the matter?" Lyra breathed, sticking to the wall.

"Something ain't right." Sandra said and in the dim illumination of the anbaric street light Lyra saw the other girl's face in a frown of concentration, her black eyes glowing eerily.

Black eyes? Lyra shook her head slightly thinking she'd imagined it or it was a trick of the light. But as she looked back, some part of her knew that Sandra's eyes really were black at that moment. "What do we do?" Lyra asked.

Sandra looked back at Lyra and said, "Stay close to me." She went along the wall, walking carefully, her steps inaudible. Lyra followed suit, trying to keep quiet but her boots kept splashing lightly in the small puddles on the sidewalk. Pan was nestled on her shoulder, not wanting to get dirty in the wet streets. He whispered something in her ear and she nodded once. After moving silently along a few other streets, Sandra stopped in an alley and looked up the side of a tall building. "There's a ladder up there. I'll go up and lower it for you."

Taking a step back, Sandra ran up the wall and caught at a jutting brick. She hauled herself up, placing her foot first before reaching for another crack in the wall and surely making her way up the building. Lyra could only stare in awe as Sandra gracefully reached the roof, and then slowly lowered the wooden ladder. It was too short to reach the bottom, but long enough for Lyra to catch it and place it down. Sandra beckoned for her to climb up and Lyra did. When she got to the last step Sandra extended a hand and pulled her up onto the roof with ease. Again, Lyra was amazed at her strength.

"Everyone okay?" Xander asked.

"All good," said Pantalaimon.

"Okay. Now get down." Sandra crouched on the roof and slowly made her way up the slope. Lyra did so as well and when they reached the edge they looked over to the docks on the river Thames.

Suddenly, Sandra started shaking her head, her eyes wide and swearing quietly. "No, no, no. This is not good." Sandra ducked behind the slate roof and proceeded to mutter vicious swears under her breath. Lyra was tempted to cover her ears.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Damn it. They've found the window," said Sandra through clenched teeth. "See those bastards there by the river shore? They're paid off by the Magisterium. And they've found the window from where I came from."

"You mean you don't come from my world?"

"Nope. I get that Xander may have mislead you but if you haven't noticed, I'm not the typical representative of this place."

"I thought you were from somewhere in America. 'Cause of your accent."

Sandra snorted. "That's a far cry from my birthplace."

"But you said we were going to London. Not that you'd be taking me into another world. And how do you know the window's still there?"

"When I said I was taking you to London, I didn't specify _which_ London, now did I? And I know that the window is there because I went through it not two weeks ago."

"So what do we do about those men?"

"'We'? 'We' do nothing. I'm gonna take them out, while you stay here."

"Are you insane? There's about twenty of them around the dock and on the shore. How are you ever going to do that?"

"I can handle them. I've done this hundreds of times before." Sandra crouched to the edge of the roof and looked back. "Stay. Put. There." She pointed at Lyra and then jumped down.

Lyra rushed to the edge and looked down. Sandra was crouching behind a crate. A few seconds later Lyra saw a big man with an axe approach. Just before he could spot Sandra, she jumped out and drove a knife into his throat before pulling him behind the crate. Peeking over the crate, she exited her cover and, still in a crouch, hid from Lyra's view behind the building. Lyra tried to swallow back her nausea as she saw the man's glassy eyes gazing at the sky. She drew back and took a few deep breaths. Looking back over the roof, she shook her head.

"Screw it." She said and used the ladder to get down from the roof.

"What are you doing?" Pan asked, barely subduing his shrill voice.

"Hush Pan. I'm not letting her get killed."

"But you don't know how to fight." Pan pointed out as he jumped on her shoulder.

"I'll figure something out." Lyra said and carefully made her way to where the street overlooked the shore of the river. Dropping down and landing on the balls of her feet, she quickly hid behind some barrels and peeked over them. She could just barely make out a small shadow in the distance, moving swiftly from cover to cover.

"Smith, what's that?" Lyra's heart almost jumped out of her chest. There were two men leaning on crates some distance from her. One of them was pointing to where Sandra had covered herself, waiting patiently for a patrolling guard to come.

"Someone tryin' to sneak up on us." Said the other man and took out a meat cleaver. Lyra's mind raced; she had to lure them away, without giving away her position if possible.

She grabbed an empty bottle lying on the shore and threw it as far as she could in the opposite direction, hearing it break with a satisfying sound. She ducked behind the barrels just when the men turned and went over to inspect the noise, their daemons to dull to look around for an intruder. Smiling slightly, Lyra dashed across the sand from cover to cover, trying to get as close as possible to Sandra. But no sooner had she hid behind a crate, an angry shout was heard, which was silenced almost immediately. Looking over Lyra saw a man clutching his bleeding throat from which a knife was sticking out. Sandra was standing up, now in full view of the ten or so men left around the dock.

What happened next locked Lyra in place with cold dread. Taking out a curved dagger from her coat Sandra dispatched the two men to attack her first with two moves, swiftly cutting through the flesh of their throats and chests. Then she threw her dagger which embedded itself in another man's forehead. Getting another hidden knife from her coat, she stabbed the blade into the fourth man's chest. Sliding under and narrowly missing a cleaver in the head, she tripped another one of her attackers before retrieving her dagger from the falling brute's forehead before stabbing it again into the face of the downed man. She then took out a revolver gun and fired at two more men, planting a bullet right between their eyes. All the while Xander was fighting the men's daemons off, the ugly dogs biting at his neck and back. However, Sandra wasn't expecting the next assault.

A brute picked up a barrel and hurled it at Sandra, knocking her off balance and causing her to drop her revolver. That wasn't going to stop her, though. Rolling quickly to her feet, she produced a sword from underneath her coat and sidestepping the man's punch she got behind him and evenly slit his throat. The man fell down and one of the two remaining attackers fired at Sandra, hitting her in the shoulder and causing her to drop the sword. Following up on his comrade's attack, the other brute delivered a jaw cracking punch to Sandra's face, knocking her back. He proceeded to deliver painful hits to her, pushing her back towards the water until she gave a roar of fury and answered the hits with a devastating punch to the head, so powerful that Lyra heard the horribly loud sound of bone cracking. He fell after that one single blow. Sandra's hood had fallen off and as she looked up, her face bruised and bloody, the last brute, bigger and burlier than his fallen comrades, rammed into her with the strength of a charging rhino, pushing her knee deep in the river and then grabbing her throat to keep her head under the water. Sandra desperately tried to get him off, struggling for dear life, but she only managed to punch a hole in the man's cheek with another hidden knife before being submerged into the black water again. A moment later a second revolver resurfaced from the water in Sandra's other hand but it was swept away, falling in the water and the bullet missing its target.

Lyra didn't know how everything happened next, but time seemed to slow down as it happened. She jumped from behind her cover and her feet moved by their own will as she rushed to where the struggle was taking place. She reached for the revolver in the muddy water and shot.

The man reared back from the force of the bullet in his head and Sandra pushed him over in the water. She emerged, bloody and bruised but alive, and coughed up water from her mouth.

The whole ordeal had happened in less than a minute.

Lyra starred with wide eyes at Sandra. The shock of what happened was too much to take. Then she whispered, "I shot his head off."

"Yeah. You sure did." Sandra said calmly and rubbed her throat.

Lyra's hand shook and she dropped the revolver. "I shot him." She said again and fell back on the shore, breathing heavily. "I feel sick."

Sandra got up and walked over to her, taking the gun. "I told you to hang back. You could've been hurt." She said and her words came out harsher than intended.

Lyra looked up and glared at her. "If I had, you'd be dead now."

Sandra opened her mouth to say something, probably scold her or yell at her, but nothing came out. Closing it she looked at Lyra as the younger girl rubbed her face and breathed heavily, trying not to throw up. "We gotta go." Sandra said and went to collect her other weapons.

Lyra looked at the other girl's retreating form and pushed herself up on shaky legs. "Lead the way." She said in a frail voice that broke at the end.

Sandra looked back at Lyra, her hand outstretched to her daemon as Xander brought her dagger to her. She quickly sheathed her knife and walked over to Lyra. Lyra was stubbornly refusing to look the other girl in the face, not wanting to be seen this wrecked and scared.

A few moments of silence passed. And then, "You did good back there." Sandra said, her arms crossed over her chest. "I know it wasn't easy but it was either that bastard or me. Thank you."

At that Lyra did look up at Sandra. Her face looked horribly beaten; bruises on her cheek and temple, and blood running down from her nose (which, surprisingly, wasn't broken) and her split lip. And still she was smiling at her, warm and proud. But all Lyra felt was a chilling numbness. "I don't feel like it." She said meekly.

Sandra gently pushed the hood off the younger girl's head, looking at her tear streaked face, covered very slightly with blood around the chin, and gazed intently in her eyes, as if she could really see inside her soul. Then she pushed the hair out of Lyra's eyes and simply said, "Beginner's guilt. You'll get used to it." She smiled slightly and Lyra saw the green color of her eyes returning.

Then Xander called out, "They're all dead." Sandra turned to him and a flicker of irritation and regret passed through her face.

"A pity." She said indifferently. "Well we might as well get going." She started walking towards the base of the dock. "Come on pup." Sandra said and took out her sword, swinging it with practiced ease, sending tiny drops of blood around.

Lyra's stubborn pride emerged then. "Pup? Who you calling a pup?" She ran to Sandra, falling into step beside her. Pantalaimon was right behind her, scurrying at her feet.

"You of course, little pup." Sandra said again and stopped at one of the dead bodies she'd dispatched only moments ago. "You have so much more to learn. There's so much that I could teach you." She spoke as she cleaned her blade in the clothes of the man. "That is, only if you want to."

"Want what?" Lyra asked confused. There was something really unnerving in the way that Sandra casually cleaned her sword in the corpse's rags. Although, to Lyra's own surprise, it didn't worry her so much now; her nausea had passed and now she looked at all the death around her with a somber detachment. She guessed it was from the shock and shrugged it off.

"For me to teach you. Teach you how to fight and defend yourself, how to blend with the shadows around you, how to make the most of every opportunity that comes knocking."

"You mean teach me how to kill like you." Lyra stared her square in the eye.

Sandra blinked once, her mouth agape because of her bleeding lip. "If you want to. Not necessarily, but I could teach you how to defend yourself at least. Or how to properly handle a gun."

Lyra suddenly had a thought of a distant memory that felt like a lifetime ago. She remembered bone-chilling coldness, the harsh air of the North, a long stick in her hand, swiping at a massive armored bear with it. "Will you teach me how to fight with a sword?" She said suddenly.

Sandra blinked in surprise again. "I could." She said slowly.

"But will you?" Lyra pressed.

Sandra averted her gaze for a while, worrying at her split lip, pressing the tip of the sword into her finger and spinning it in thought. After a while she looked back at Lyra. "You know what?" She said. "I say we take this step by step. First I'll teach you self-defense and then I'll show you how to handle a sword like a pro."

Lyra nodded. "Alright."

Sandra smiled then and passed Lyra her sword. "An early Christmas present." Lyra took the blade, caught off guard by the gift. "It's a French rapier, one of the first blades I've ever owned. And now it's yours."

Lyra stared dumbfounded at the blade and then looked up at Sandra, remembering her manners. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it, pup." Sandra chuckled and clapped her shoulder. "Now come on. We'd best get going." She quickened her pace to the dock, Lyra hurrying behind her with her new blade at her side. After some navigating under the construction of the dock Sandra pushed aside a huge crate, revealing a pitch black tunnel where the dock connects to the streets. "Step into my office." Sandra gestured into the darkness that seemed to consume what little light there was left in the shadows. Lyra took a breath and scooped Pan in her arms, following Sandra and her daemon into the tunnel. The tunnel was tall and wide enough for her to pass with no difficulty and since there was no light she listened intently for Sandra's sure footsteps ahead of her, guiding her to the new world. After no more than a couple of minutes of walking in the pitch blackness she felt her whole self being consumed in the darkness; she knew her vision was of no good to hear so she trusted her other senses. However she soon began to lose them; she could barely hear their footsteps as the darkness consumed everything. She outstretched her hand, grabbing Sandra's shoulder and holding tight onto Pan with the other one. He hand suddenly became numb and then her feet and then her whole body. Soon, even her mind was consumed by the darkness and she slipped into it, far too weak to fight back.


End file.
